Sarri had previously been unimpressed with Morata in pre-season, but praised him on Saturday evening while still calling for improvement from a player who scored 11 Premier League goals last season.

"I'm still waiting for the best Morata," Sarri said.

"In the first match [against Perth Glory] Morata did not play very well, in Australia.

"But tonight, especially in the first 30 minutes, he improved a lot. I am satisfied and I am very confident in him for the future."

Sarri managed 15 clubs in Italy before taking charge at Chelsea

Sarri was also full of praise for new signing Jorginho, who scored Chelsea's first penalty in a shootout which the Blues won 5-4.

The Italian midfielder, who worked with Sarri at his former club Napoli, played for 90 minutes which finished 1-1 after Pedro put the Blues ahead in the first half, before Roberto Gagliardini equalised for Inter.

"For Jorginho, this is a normal match," Sarri told the club's website. "He has technical ability but Jorginho also has a great mental speed, too. So for this way of football, I think Jorginho is a wonderful player.

Jorginho began his career at Italian club Verona

"All over the pitch, though, we move the ball very quickly and we moved it well tonight, but not at the right speed.

"You have to move the ball at a great speed on the floor. Otherwise, we risk to play for 90 minutes with 75 per cent ball possession but without scoring. That's what we need to improve on."